How to Set Up SettleWise
SettleWise is implemented at the firm level and is designed to get your team running a real case end-to-end — from client document collection to an attorney-ready financial affidavit — quickly, mirroring the workflow your paralegals already follow.
Step 1: Sign Up the Firm and Choose a Plan
- Sign up the firm and select a plan based on how many active divorce cases you run at once.
- Plan selection is driven by active case volume so the firm only pays for the capacity it uses.
- A Professional trial period is available to prove the workflow on real cases before committing.
Step 2: Invite Your Team
- Invite attorneys and paralegals as team members so everyone works from one shared case hub.
- Set role-based permissions controlling who can see and edit what.
- Paralegals are the daily document users; attorneys review extracted data and the drafted affidavit.
Step 3: Import Existing Data
- Import data from your existing practice-management tools (Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, Smokeball) during onboarding.
- The firm is not starting from scratch — existing case and client data carries over.
Step 4: Set Up Your First Case and Document Checklist
- Open your first case and define the document checklist by category (for example: 12 months of bank statements, 24 months of liabilities, 3 years of tax returns).
- Choose a straightforward case so the team learns the flow quickly.
Step 5: Send the Branded Client Portal
- Send the branded client upload portal link so your client can upload financial documents directly.
- The client receives a task list with progress tracking; the firm sees upload status at a glance.
Step 6: Review Auto-Sorted and Gap-Checked Documents
- Documents are auto-sorted into 35+ types with consistent naming (institution + date range + type).
- Gap detection flags missing statement periods down to the month.
- Paralegals review flagged gaps and follow up with the client — instead of opening and sorting every file by hand.
Step 7: Export for Attorney Review and Filing
- The financial affidavit and marital balance sheet are auto-populated from extracted data.
- Paralegals verify extracted values; the attorney reviews and customizes the affidavit draft.
- Export the affidavit (PDF) and marital balance sheet (Excel) for filing or back into your case-management system.
Go-Live Checklist
- [ ] Firm signed up and plan chosen
- [ ] Attorneys and paralegals invited; roles set
- [ ] Existing data imported
- [ ] First case and document checklist created
- [ ] Branded portal link sent to client
- [ ] Documents auto-sorted and gap-checked
- [ ] Paralegal reviews and follows up on flagged gaps
- [ ] Extracted values verified
- [ ] Affidavit and balance sheet generated, reviewed, and filed
FAQ
- How long does implementation take?
- Most firms process their first case within the first weeks of onboarding. The workflow mirrors what paralegals already do, so the learning curve is focused on the upload-review-export flow rather than an entirely new process.
- Do we need to retrain our whole team?
- Paralegals learn the upload-review-and-export flow; attorneys learn to review extracted data and the drafted affidavit. Onboarding covers both roles and is designed to minimize disruption to existing workflows.